Chateau de Commarque

One of our favourite authors is Martin Walker who lives for part of each year here in the Perigord region. Amongst many other things, Martin writes a series of policiers with the central character a local policeman called Bruno. We love the way that Martin incorporates the food, wine and culture of this region into each of his books. Each is based on a feature of the local history, whether it’s prehistoric cave art, the resistance during WW11 or the wine industry.  His latest book is called The Templar’s Last Secret and talks about the Chateau de Commarque , so we decided we should visit this site since it’s not so far away.

On a very hot Sunday, we drove deep into the countryside in search of the ruins of this chateau. The area is forested and the roads just one lane wide and in poor condition. Luckily there are signposts or we would never have found it.


A group of car enthusiasts had the same idea, judging by what was in the carpark huddled in the shade of the trees.

We had taken Lily with us for a bit of exercise and culture and she does love exploring new places.

Lily not looking entirely happy with the idea of a walk on a hot day

the path disappearing into the forest and no sign of the chateau yet

It was a 600 metre walk downhill through the forest to the base of the chateau. Apparently, when the chateau was inhabited, the  valley floor was 20 metres lower than it is today, so the surrounding countryside would have looked very different.

the forests here are delightfully cool and lush 

you'd never know it was almost 40 degrees in the sunshine

and here we are !

Now there is simply a small stream wandering through meadows with a few cows. The base of the cliff opposite is a complex of abandoned troglodyte caves which would have been high above the valley  when this was a thriving community.

you can see what would have been cave openings
when the valley floor was much lower

There is evidence that man has lived in the Perigord region for 100,000 years so it has always been considered a desirable address. Beneath the chateau is an example of cave art said to be 15,000 years old. Who knows how long people have lived in the caves, but this fortress was built during the twelfth century . 

a view of the neighbour

the original gateway into the fortress

the great hall as it would have been...

...and as it is now

an original door...

...and it's replacement  

in the Dordogne this is called a chabanos.
It could have been used as a shepherd's hut,
a toolshed, a henhouse, anything

   

another view of the neighbouring chateau from the guardhouse

The neighbouring chateau is privately owned and not open to the public and I wasn't able to find any information on it's history. The Dordogne region is known as " the land of 1000 chateaux" and I'm sure there is even more than that . It is always a surprise in winter when the trees have dropped their leaves to be driving along and discover a chateau that was hidden from view during the summer. This area is known as Perigord Noir (black) because of the lush, dark holm oak forests, as you can see.

 There are so many fascinating places to visit in this country and we haven't scratched the surface yet.

After la canicule ( heatwave) of the past couple of weeks, we now have cooler stormy weather. So, so pleased for the change and the garden is grateful for the rain.

J'espère vous voir bientôt